Category: Applications

Podcasts continue to be a popular form of broadcasting even though the era of the iPod goes way back.

Obtaining podcasts can be easy for iOS users yet this isn’t necessarily the case for Android phone users up until now.

So, here are 3 podcast apps for Android phones:

#1: Pocket Casts
Considered to be an app that is easy to use with its tile-formatted layout, its overall interface is an excellent example of Material Design with both a finger-friendly layout as well as a slide-out side menu. The main menu is probably one of the app’s best design elements.

You can use the featured or trending sections to find podcasts if you are new while search and the category filter if you’re looking for a particular podcast.

#2: Player FM
Without a doubt, this podcast app is well-designed and bears similarity to Pocket Casts. The app itself offers a full set of features and which includes using it on your desktop as well. Of course, for this you will have to create an account but the option of Google sign-in makes it easier than ever. Given that it is free of cost, it is an excellent option if you are a light podcast users and aren’t ready to your favorite paid app just yet.

#3: DoggCatcher
Costing $2.99, DogCatcher is an excellent option for not only tracking down but also discovering new or previously undiscovered podcasts. While it breaks up the discovery section into news, audio or video, the easiest way for one to find podcasts is from the Subscribe section right from the slide out menu.

Not only can you set a sleep timer that will cause the podcast to fade away when you sleep but it also allows you to create as many categories as you’d like so as to keep your list of subscriptions neat.

If Christmas was the time you got a new phone, then you might be wondering what to do with your old phone assuming, of course, that you don’t want to use it as backup

Parting ways with your phone involves two clear steps: clearing all personal data from that phone while also figuring out how to get rid of it.

So, here are 3 steps to part with your phone before you enjoy using the new one:

#1: Encrypt and Reset

The first thing that comes to mind with your old phone is doing a factory reset. Since whatever you have on your phone will be overwritten with new content, it’s going to be hard to access whatever you have on there already.

However, if it falls into the wrong hands, they can still have access to your data. So, before you perform a factory reset, encrypt your phone by going to Setting>Security>Encryption. For this, your phone needs to be fully charged and will take almost an hour. Still, it’s worth it because it makes accessing your data far more harder than usual.

#2: Donate or Recycle

Options such as Verizon’s Hopeline as well as Cell Phones for Soldiers are good if you’d like to donate your phone. If your phone isn’t in good condition, make sure you try recycling it safely as a number of phone manufacturers as well as Goodwill can help you do this.

#3: Sell your Phone

There are a number of services such as Gazelle and Amazon that will buy your phone, provided it is in good condition. However, make sure you look at a number of services such as eCycle or Glyde to get the best prices. Locally speaking, cellular service providers and retailers like Best Buy will be happy to buy your phone.

In the situation where you want to get rid of your Android or start with a clean slate, performing a ‘factory reset’ is just what you need to do.

It is called so because it restores the phone back to the state when it was ‘fresh from the box’.

While this procedure is enough to safeguard your data, there are people who can still dig up your data. For this reason, it is a good idea to encrypt your phone too if you’re planning to donate or sell it to someone else too.

Of course, before you do this, ensure that you backup data that you consider important. That said, here are is how you reset your Android phone:

First, you have to find the Backup and reset menu on your phone, which performs the functions as the name of the menu suggests.

Even if a number of phones’ menus have different options for backup, the first thing that you will need to do is look for the reset option at the bottom of the menu.

When you tap on this option, you will find that it will throw up a number of actions that will be performed and which includes deleting all data from your phone.

In the case, where you smartphone or tablet has expandable storage, wiping the external memory card will also be an option you have at your disposal. Of course, this is completely up to you but isn’t necessary.

Once you tap Reset phone or Reset device, your phone will reboot in recovery mode and will wipe the tablet or phone.

As soon as it reboots, you’ll find that it has returned to its factory settings and requires you to set it up again or give it a new user.

Probably one of the best features of a smartphone is the ability to take pictures just about anytime and anywhere.

While that might seem simple enough, the truth is that getting them off your smartphone and on to your PC can be a real headache.

Instead of having to deal with wires, a better idea would be to use photo apps that are already on your phone or can be easily downloaded.

That said, here are 3 photo apps that makes the task of transferring photos effortless:

#1: OneDrive

This storage option offered by Microsoft is very similar to DropBox, in terms of its backup method. Not only can you upload pictures by using Wifi but you also get 3 GB of storage completely free. With Windows 8 combining SkyDrive and OneDrive, it’s very simple to upload pictures that will end up on your PC easily. Just set OneDrive to download your camera backup folder by default.

#2: Google+

Even though there have been rumors about Google+ meeting its end, you can still upload all your pictures to this social network. Best part: they aren’t shared with anyone but kept private instead. Even though you won’t have them on your hard drive, it takes only a few clicks to download them on to your desktop.

#3: AirDroid

With this app, you don’t have to sync your phone and PC either. You can pick when you wish to connect to your PC (without a wire, of course). It’s also very simple to move files between your PC and AirDroid.